News and Events

Leeds puts climate messages in lights

A social media campaign that put people's thoughts about climate change in lights was used to engage the public in the run up to, and during Green GB Week (15-19 October 2018).

The #MyClimate Twitter campaign asked people to respond to the question, "What does climate change mean to you?" in words of nine characters or less. Over 150 responses were curated by a team of volunteers from the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds. The selection of messages was displayed in 2m-high illuminated letters in the windows of the Platform building adjacent to Leeds Station using a digital installation previously used for Leeds Light Night.

The campaign produced negative words such as "destruction", "extinction" and "scary" but also more positive messages with words like "solutions", "caring" and "fairness". Dr Chris Smith, who was a contributing author to the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C, published a week earlier, also used the digital installation to summarise the report's key messages.

The installation was the work of creative producer Suzie Cross and University of Leeds Cultural Fellow Dave Lynch and was supported by Leeds BID and Bruntwood.

Over 100 people packed out Leeds Civic Hall for Climate Question Time, a keynote event in the north for Green GB Week (15-19 October 2018).

The event, hosted by Leeds Climate Commission with the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds and the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, was held in the council chamber on Tuesday 16 October.